


Give Physic

by Crowgirl



Series: On the Strength of the Evidence [54]
Category: Grantchester (TV)
Genre: Early Days, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prompt Fic, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 06:45:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13382364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowgirl/pseuds/Crowgirl
Summary: Prompt from Improbable Press'sSparknewsletter: Don't touch me there…touch me here.





	Give Physic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AtlinMerrick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtlinMerrick/gifts).



Sidney shudders the first time Geordie touches the scar on his left shoulder and Geordie freezes with his hand under Sidney’s vest on the too-smooth, too-tight skin. The tension in Sidney’s body doesn’t feel like the good kind and Sidney’s silence feels breathless and not in a good way either. ‘Sidney?’ 

‘I -- just --’ Sidney’s voice is small and almost surprised. ‘No-one’s touched that in -- a long time.’ 

Geordie curses himself and pulls his hand back. ‘It hurts -- fuck, I’m sorry--’

‘No, no--’ Sidney twists himself back on the bed, pulling up one knee for balance. The color has faded out of his cheeks and Geordie could kick himself. This was _not_ what he had had in mind: Sidney’s breathing has gone fast and shallow and-- Geordie’s train of thought is thrown off as Sidney catches his hand and kisses it, working his way methodically over Geordie’s knuckles. 

He leaves a last, lingering touch on Geordie’s pinky and looks up at him again. Geordie can feel heat burning up his throat into his face and he’s aware of every finger on his hand, knuckle to tip. Sidney smiles -- really smiles -- at him and slides his thumb along the top of Geordie’s palm just below his fingers. It’s just gentle pressure, a suggestion of what those big hands could do, but they haven’t done this enough times for Sidney’s touch to feel known yet, and Geordie groans before he can stop himself. Sidney laughs this time and ducks forward to kiss Geordie’s fingertips.

‘You...you can keep doing that all you like,’ Geordie says, his own voice thin and breathless in his ears. 

‘But you won’t forget about my back?’ Sidney gives a last sucking kiss to the tip of Geordie’s thumb and twines their fingers together, looking up and leaning his other elbow on his knee, propping his chin on his own fist.

Geordie shrugs, trying for as much dignity as he can hope for between his shirt hanging open off his shoulders and being hard enough for his fly to hurt. ‘You don’t have to tell me either.’ 

Sidney studies him for a moment in silence, then clears his throat. ‘The last time anyone-- She was a masseuse. The doctor at the hospital in London told me to go, get the muscle loosened up.’ He rolls his shoulders self-consciously and shrugs. ‘There hadn’t been a lot of time to do anything with it in France.’

‘Didn’t they send you home?’ 

Sidney shakes his head. ‘Two weeks in Nice for recovery, then back to it. I suppose I hadn’t really noticed--’ He rolls his shoulder again and grimaces. ‘When she touched it, I damn near screamed.’

‘Poor woman.’

‘I think she was used to it. It didn’t seem to bother her.’ Sidney pauses, running his thumb thoughtfully along the back of Geordie’s wrist and Geordie knows something is being weighed, calculated out, and he waits. Sidney moves as if he’s going to speak once or twice but doesn’t, biting at his lower lip instead.

Sidney lets out a long breath before he finally says, ‘I cried for an hour when I got back to my rooms.’ He looks up at Geordie almost defiantly, the blue of his eyes far too bright and his lips set hard and all Geordie can think to do is to kneel up on the bed, reach out and run his fingers through Sidney’s hair, cup the back of his skull in his palm. Sidney gives against him immediately, with an exhalation halfway between a sigh and a sob and Geordie pulls him in, bowing his own head over Sidney’s so his nose is almost buried in Sidney’s hair.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Shakespeare's [Sonnet XXXIV](http://www.bartleby.com/70/50034.html).
> 
> Thanks as always to the best and most darling of all betas, [elizajane](http://archiveofourown.org/users/elizajane), [the Lady Kivrin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Kivrin) who very kindly gave me excellent advice -- which I chose to ignore. There _may_ , however, be a sequel to this piece. At some point.


End file.
